Venus and Adonis, Francis van Bossuit, c. 1685 - c. 1692

Venus discovers the body of her beloved Adonis, who has been fatally injured during a wild boar hunt. Bossuit masterfully rendered the goddess of love’s dismay as she hastens to his side. During the final years of his life, the Flemish ivory carver Van Bossuit worked almost exclusively for Petronella de la Court, wife of an Amsterdam merchant and herself a beer brewer. This relief comes from her cabinet of art.